WPPA/T102 Sports-Wednesday

PITTSBURGH (AP) — James Neal had a goal and an assist, and Pittsburgh fired a barrage of shots at Carolina goalie Justin Peters before finally breaking him in a 4-2 victory over the Hurricanes last night that stretched the Penguins' winning streak to four games. Neal scored his 21st goal, one behind the NHL leaders. He has scored in every game of the Penguins' winning streak and has 14 goals in 16 home games.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steven Stamkos had two goals, Mathieu Garon made 31 saves, and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-1 last night. Scott Hartnell scored for Philadelphia, which is 1-3-1 over the past five games. Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov gave up Tampa Bay's first three goals on just eight shots.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says injured quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and center Maurkice Pouncey have a "shot" to play in the regular-season finale against Cleveland. Both players sat out last Saturday's 27-0 victory over St. Louis with high ankle sprains.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Alex Dragicevich hit four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 22 points to lead Notre Dame to a 72-59 win over Number 22 Pittsburgh last night in the Big East opener for both teams. Jerian Grant added 15 points and nine assists, and Eric Atkins also scored 15 points for the Fighting Irish, who trailed 26-25 at intermission but rallied with an 18-for-25 performance from the field in the second half.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — It was a disappointing year for sports teams in eastern Pennsylvania as the Flyers, Phillies and Eagles failed to live up to enormous expectations. Yet nothing was more shocking than the disturbing events that unfolded at Penn State in November. In the fallout, Joe Paterno was fired after 46 seasons as the Nittany Lions' head coach.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — It was an eventful but championship-less year in western Pennsylvania sports. The Steelers stumbled, the Penguins lost superstar Sidney Crosby for months with concussion-like symptoms and the Pirates showed signs of life.

DALLAS (AP) — Penn State has opened its bowl preparations without quarterback Matt McGloin in uniform. McGloin was in street clothes yesterday when the Nittany Lions started practice at a Dallas-area high school. Before Christmas, he hit his head during a locker-room scuffle with receiver Curtis Drake. He went into seizure and suffered a concussion.

MIAMI (AP) — LeBron James scored 26 points, rookie point guard Norris Cole came up with 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, and the Miami Heat nearly blew a 20-point lead before beating the Boston Celtics 115-107. Through two games, Miami is 2-0 and has trailed only once — by two points, for all of 14 seconds.

DETROIT (AP) — Purdue recovered two onside kicks and Raheem Mostert returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and the Boilermakers held off Western Michigan 37-32 in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. The Broncos had the ball with a chance to go ahead, but their comeback hopes ended when quarterback Alex Carder fumbled for his fifth turnover of the game with just under two minutes left.

NEW YORK (AP) — Tom Brady is one of eight Patriots and Patrick Willis one of eight 49ers to make the Pro Bowl, the most on each roster. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers tops seven Packers and linebacker Ray Lewis is one of seven Ravens in the Jan. 29 Pro Bowl in Honolulu.

DETROIT (AP) — Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall scored 56 seconds apart in the third period to give the Detroit Red Wings a 3-2 comeback win over the St. Louis Blues. The Red Wings have won 11 straight home games.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Ryan Evans scored a career-high 22 points and No. 11 Wisconsin defeated injury-plagued Nebraska 64-40 in the Cornhuskers' inaugural Big Ten game. The Huskers closed within five points early in the second half, but the Badgers went on a 27-5 run to put the game out of reach.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final
Atlanta 106
New Jersey 70

Final
Miami 115
Boston 107

Final
Milwaukee 98
Minnesota 95

Final
Portland 101
Sacramento 79

Final
L-A Lakers 96
Utah 71

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final 2OT
Calgary 2
Columbus 1 (SO Calgary 1-0)

Final
Pittsburgh 4
Carolina 2

Final
Montreal 6
Ottawa 2

Final
Tampa Bay 5
Philadelphia 1

Final
Detroit 3
St. Louis 2

Final
Florida 5
Toronto 3

Final
Winnipeg 4
Colorado 1

TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final
(11) Wisconsin 64
Nebraska 40

Final
Notre Dame 72
(22) Pittsburgh 59

Final
(23) Virginia 69
Md.-Eastern Shore 42